Sting Earns $2,000 A Day From 'Every Breath You Take'

1/10/2014 11:06 AM ET

A new report from the website Celebrity Net Worth has revealed that Sting earns roughly $2,000 a day in royalties from the Police track "Every Breath You Take." Much of the income from the song is derived from its sampling in the Diddy cut "I'll Be Missing You," which features the song's signature guitar hook.

According to the report, Sting earns 100% of the publishing royalties from the Diddy track, as the rap mogul failed to clear the publishing rights to the sample before it was released. Had the track been properly licensed Sting would have only been entitled to 25% of the royalties from it.

And despite Andy Summers being the only Police member heard on the sample, he retains none of the royalties, as Sting was credited as the song's sole writer.

He spoke with Ultimate Classic Rock calling it "the major rip-off of all time," adding: "[I]t's very flattering. I guess everybody likes it . . . Stewart [Copeland]'s not on it. Sting's not on it. I'd be walking round Tower Records, and the f—ing thing would be playing over and over."